In 1990, attorneys from the firm litigated the first state case finding that a former Five Tribes restricted allotment was a “dependent Indian community” and that state courts had no jurisdiction to evict an Indian housing authority homebuyer, which resulted in the establishment of the CFR court system in Eastern Oklahoma.

Our Milestones

Hobbs Straus prepared the successful petition of Native Village of King Salmon for federal recognition under the standard set forth in the Alaska Amendment to the Indian Reorganization Act resulting in King Salmon being added to the list of federally recognized tribes.

Our firm assisted tribal 8(a) enterprise to set up meetings and briefings with U.S. and multilateral development agencies and firms to explore opportunities for tribes and tribal enterprises to enter into the arena of international development consulting.

Attorneys from Hobbs Straus drafted international cooperation agreement between U.S. and Bolivian tribal organizations for the implementation of collaborative program activities, including the training, development and mentoring of indigenous leaders.

One of our attorneys facilitated the visit to Bolivia of indigenous delegations from the United States and New Zealand at the invitation of President Evo Morales to discuss strategies to promote implementation of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Hobbs Straus attorneys negotiated the first tribal ferry construction project under the Self-Governance provisions of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

Attorneys from the firm worked with a tribal-federal workgroup to develop the model self-governance IRR Program addendum reflecting legislative changes adopted in the SAFETEA-LU authorization.

On behalf of the National Congress of American Indians and the Intertribal Transportation Association, Hobbs Straus advocated for the adoption of legislative language and to increase IRR Program funding and expand transportation programs available to tribes in the SAFETEA-LU highway authorization.

Attorneys from the firm advised the Tribal Negotiated Rulemaking Committee in developing the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) Program regulations.

On a number of occasions, Hobbs Straus attorneys successfully defended a tribe against EEOC jurisdiction over a tribal casino employee claim.

From 2007 through 2009, Hobbs Straus attorneys assisted a tribe in avoiding millions of dollars in IRS taxes and penalties.